A lot of things may happen this summer, world cup — 3 host countries, 16 stadiums, 48 teams, 104 matches, endless opportunities for controversy On and off the soccer field.
But looking back, a lot of things went right.
The United States, Canada and Mexico spent roughly six weeks hosting soccer’s biggest showcase, and for the most part, at least, the games stayed on the field.
Star players like the Argentina national team lionel messiFrench Kylian Mbappe and of norway erling haaland became famous throughout North America and continued to have high television ratings in the United States. Even after the Americans were removed Despite the high ticket prices, the stadium was packed for most games.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino He followed Spain in praising the hosts on Sunday. won the final They defeated Argentina 1-0 in extra time.
Attendance was good and evaluations were good.
Fox aired all 104 games in English on its platform, and U.S. ratings remained strong even after the U.S. lost to Belgium in the Round of 16.
Broadcast in Spanish on Telemundo was also a popular option — even if you are a non-native speaker.
Fox has not yet announced viewership numbers for Sunday’s final, but preliminary numbers from Telemundo show Spain vs. Argentina had a total audience of 22.6 million viewers, on track to become the most-watched World Cup final in Spanish-language media history.
The July 6 game between the United States and Belgium was watched by more than 45 million people, including 33.1 million on Fox and 12 million on Telemundo.
and Despite some initial problemsstadium attendance was strong across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
“We had a record number of spectators in the stadium, about 7 million people,” Infantino said. “Official numbers will be released soon, but there are probably more than 6 billion people watching from home.”
The weather was cooperative, too — usually
Fans and players from other countries learned what Americans, Canadians and Mexicans have known for years. It can get pretty hot in here. In the summer. climate change Doesn’t help the problem.
But Mother Nature might have been meaner than she let on.
Still, there were some matches that took place in particularly hot and humid conditions. The best example was the first round of the Paraguay vs. France tournament in Philadelphia on July 4, when temperatures hovered around 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius).
Sunday’s World Cup final also avoided the potential issue of smoke from the Canadian wildfires. encompassed the northeast A well-timed thunderstorm cleared most of the fog from the New Jersey area.
size doesn’t matter
This year’s World Cup featured 48 teams, making it the largest field in the tournament’s history. Many thought it would be watered down competition.
It wasn’t.
cape verde They held eventual champion Spain to a draw in the opening game, advanced to the last 32, and terrified Argentina, but they lost 2-3 in overtime at the World Cup Classic. Congo also made it through the group stage. pushed England out Before you finally lose, Curacao There was still a chance for a knockout win heading into the final group match.
After such a Cinderella story, fans finally got to enjoy a semifinal match full of heavyweights. England, Argentina, Spain and France are the top four in the world rankings.
politics cannot be ignored
The World Cup is famously a petri dish of political conflict, and this year’s version also had its share of conflicts.
While Iran participates in the tournament, war in the middle east This was a particularly troublesome problem and the team had to move its base camp From Arizona to Mexico. Iranian participation was overshadowed by travel complaints and visa issues, with the United States refusing to issue visas to several members of the Iranian delegation.
Infantino’s relationship with US President Donald Trump has come under scrutiny following the match with American striker Folarin Balogun. A one-match suspension was imposed due to the red card. Ahead of the team’s Round of 16 match against Belgium.
travel restrictions That’s because a series of countries blocked some fans from traveling to the United States, but there were no reports of the heavy-handed immigration enforcement that some human rights groups feared could take place around World Cup stadiums.
Infantino ignored most of the controversy and instead focused on the positives. Although the FIFA president is keen to paint a rosy picture of this year’s World Cup, there is little doubt that the tournament was a huge hit from a soccer perspective.
“I think we need to invent a new vocabulary, new words to define the success of this World Cup,” Infantino said.
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AP Soccer Writer James Robson and AP Sports Writer Joe Reedy contributed to this article.
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
